Avengers: Doomsday brings back another surprise Endgame star we haven’t seen since 2019

Right, Marvel’s gone and done it again—just when you thought Avengers: Doomsday was already a beast of a film, they’ve stacked the cast even further. If you reckon you’ve seen enough returning faces in the MCU lately, brace yourself: Hayley Atwell is officially set to return to the fold.

The announcement landed in the noisiest way possible at Marvel Studios’ Hall H spectacular during San Diego Comic-Con 2026. In the middle of all the shouting about new and old Avengers rubbing shoulders onscreen, Marvel brought Atwell herself out—along with Chris Evans (back again, obviously) and Pedro Pascal—to make things fully official. For those who’ve managed to avoid spoilers for the last decade, Atwell’s been the MCU’s Peggy Carter, a proper legend in her own right and the one who finally got to settle down for a dance with Cap in Endgame. That was the last we saw of Peggy—until now.

'I always want Peggy to have something different to do… we have that in this. It’s such an existential epic of a movie. You see Peggy in a very different light responding to that.'

What to expect from Doomsday

Marvel’s synopsis is as over-the-top as you’d expect: apparently, Avengers: Doomsday is where “universes collide” and the “Multiverse Saga begins its final chapter”. The studio’s promising not just one universe gone pear-shaped but three smacking into each other, with “beloved heroes” all getting tossed into the mixer. The stakes? Supposedly more dire than anything these characters have been chucked at previously—and at this stage, that’s saying something.

Now, the timing of Atwell’s return isn’t random. Pretty much everyone expects Evans’ Captain America to be central to the film, so if he’s coming back, of course Peggy’s going to be on the scene in some form. Atwell herself told DiscussingFilm she’d be playing Peggy "in a very different light" in what she called an "existential epic", and frankly, I’m curious how that shakes out considering she’s already had one fairy tale ending. Make of that what you will—the multiverse makes anyone fair game now.

The ever-growing lineup

The roster for Doomsday is looking a bit mad. Beyond Atwell and Evans, there’s Pedro Pascal turning up as Reed Richards, Chris Hemsworth still clinging to Thor’s hammer, Vanessa Kirby and Anthony Mackie as Sue Storm and Cap 2.0, Sebastian Stan as Bucky, Letitia Wright as Shuri/Black Panther, and Paul Rudd still cracking wise as Ant-Man. This isn’t even the full list—expect pretty much everyone with spandex or unresolved trauma to pop by.

is set for release on 18 December 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars following exactly a year later.